AN: Sorry for the delay in posting- I was snowed in with my family all last week. I think we got about a foot of snow where we are, and that is so not normal. We still have snow on the ground where it was pushed up into mountains and it's been in the 60's the past couple of days.

Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Garrett was content to hold his wife for the rest of the night, talking quietly and enjoying just being close to her. Bella, however, was very much ready to continue exploring her husband's body as much as he would let her.

While Garrett's kisses were gentle, almost reverent, she pulled him closer and poured everything she was feeling into her kiss. She wasn't used to these intense feelings that he had awakened with his touch, but she knew the boys would sleep for several more hours and she wanted to enjoy him as much as she could in that time.

"Bella, what?" Garrett was startled to feel her soft little hands roaming again, but when she kissed him again it didn't take him long to catch up. He reached down and grabbed her knee, pulling it up to his hip and opening her up to him.

"Come up here, baby girl," he urged quietly, pulling her to rest on top of him. "I want you this way—you have the control."

She looked confused until he lifted her hips and directed her down onto his waiting erection. She moaned as she sank down on him, curling her nails into his chest as he filled her. Garrett kept his hands on her hips and began to lift and lower her, showing her what she could do.

It didn't take long for her to catch on, rolling her hips as she stared down at his lust-darkened eyes. She loved the jolts of pleasure she got every time she raised and lowered herself, and then Garrett took her even higher when his thumb began rubbing her clit.

Bella felt the wave coming over her again, and she dropped her head trying to reach his mouth for a kiss. He had to crane his neck up to meet her since she was so much shorter, but they made it work.

After her first orgasm, Garrett flipped them over and began to thrust into her faster and deeper, trying to push her to another release while chasing his own. He couldn't hold back his growl as he looked down at his beautiful little mate. She was just so perfect.

"Come with me, baby girl. I know you have one more in you—come now!" His growled command seemed to go straight into her body and he felt her pulse around him, pulling his release from him. He collapsed against her once again, wondering if his age was starting to show—his wife was turning out to be a little hellcat in bed.

She laid there with his head on her chest, running her hand through his hair as his breathing slowed down to normal. In the sudden stillness, all she could think was, Emmett was right. Her big brother had tried to tell her that she would enjoy what she would do with her husband, and she certainly had. At least now she understood how her brothers kept getting their girlfriends pregnant before they were married.

Thinking about her family made her a bit more melancholy. She had definitely enjoyed her wedding to Garrett, but a part of her was disappointed that her family couldn't be there. She thought if they knew him they would love him as much as she did. She knew she could never take him to meet them, but she wondered if she could still let them know she was married.

Garrett sensed her melancholy, but was unsure of the reason for her suddenly darker mood. He worried that he might have done something wrong, and he sat up and looked at her in concern. "Bella? Are you alright, sweetheart?"

Bella bit her lip and stared up at his soulful eyes. He was so tall and strong, but everything about him screamed gentleness when he was with her. His eyes were warm honey that soothed her spirit as much as the sweet treat used to soothe throat when she was sick. She knew that he wanted to take care of her in every way, so she took a deep breath to voice her request.

"Um, I was thinking about my family," she began, her voice starting at a hesitant whisper, then gaining strength with her words. "I want to write them a letter. I can leave out all of the vampire stuff, and still tell them that I had the boys, and that you married me and became their daddy. I can tell them we're happy even if I can't ever see them again…"

To his credit, Garrett didn't immediately dismiss her idea. He sat up in the bed with his back against the wall, pulling Bella to sit in his lap. To keep them both from getting distracted, he pulled the blanket up around their nude bodies.

Tucked into his arms, Bella was content to stay there forever. She couldn't imagine feeling safer than she did right then. Garrett was her mate, her husband, her lover, but more than that, he was her protector. She could count on him to help her whenever she needed help. That's why she knew she could ask him this.

Garrett was running her suggestion over and over in his mind. He tried to look at it from every possible angle, trying to see if there was anything that could possibly endanger his little family. Bella would have to list one of his aliases in the letter, but that would actually help them stay hidden since they were planning on using the McCarty name for as long as they possibly could.

As for the boys, he assumed she would pass that message along as a human birth. He didn't see anything wrong with announcing their birth as if they were human. From what Bella had told him, the only ones who knew that James wasn't human were her and Emmett, and Emmett was dead.

That brought up another angle as well.

"Will you tell them about your brother?" he asked softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he held her tightly.

Bella stifled a sob as the guilt threatened to overwhelm her again. She wondered if she would ever be able to think of her favorite brother without the specter of his death hanging over her. She reminded herself that she had honored him by giving Jasper his name, and her son had a lot of his features and personality as well.

Pulling the blanket up higher, she sank further into her husband's embrace. "I think I have to," she whispered. "I owe him that, and I owe the family that. They need to know he won't be coming back home to them."

~oOo~

Gatlinburg, TN

"Hey, Earl!" the postmaster called out as he saw the large McCarty patriarch walk into the general store. The man hadn't been the same since Emmett and Bella left town the year before. There were plenty of rumors as to where the siblings had gone, but most agreed that Bella must have gotten herself in trouble.

No one who knew the family well would believe that particular rumor, since they all knew how protective the McCarty boys were over their little sister. The younger McCarty boys had been the closest to Bella, but they refused to even speak of her after she left.

The formerly outgoing, rambunctious crew had sobered a lot without two of their most beloved members. Earl junior lost his job at the mill and was not coping well with it. His wife was taking in mending and laundry to support their family while he drank his way through all the moonshine he could get his hands on.

What no one knew was that he blamed himself for Bella's attack. He was the one who left her unattended. It was all his fault.

Everett moved his family to town and took a job with the blacksmith. He hardly ever smiled, and just went through the motions of living.

Elliott married his girlfriend less than a week after his siblings left, and she delivered their son, Emmett, only five months later. He was lonely without his twin, but he tried his best to keep the family going.

When he went to the hunting cabin where Emmett had told him he was taking Bella, he was shocked to find it deserted. The bloodstained mattress made him wonder if Bella had miscarried, but if that was the case he didn't know why they didn't just come back home.

Elliott didn't tell the family what he found since they didn't know he went looking. He hoped his siblings were okay, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they had met with something dangerous.

The elder Earl had dragged himself to town to see what he could afford from the family's list. He hoped to drop in and see Everett as well before heading back up the mountain to the home he'd spent his whole life building.

The postmaster calling out to him pulled him from his stupor, and he swiped his hat off and reached his hand out to shake. "Hey, Walt. How's it goin'?"

Walt smiled and took a draw from his pipe. "Going good, Earl. Listen, I'm glad you stopped in today—I'm gonna run over and grab the letter that came for you the other day."

Earl was left scratching his head as the man left the store and headed next door to the post office. He couldn't remember the last time he actually received mail, seeing as how his whole family lived right there in the same general area they had lived for generations.

When Walt returned, he handed Earl a rather thick envelope. The return address was a G. Adams in Philadelphia, PA. Walt was quite curious to know who this mysterious person was.

Earl, however, had no intention of opening the letter where anyone else could see him. He despised the amount of gossip going around about his family, and he was certainly not going to do anything else to contribute to it.

He finished with his purchases and then climbed back up on the old sway-backed mule he rode in on and headed back toward his homestead. Once he was on the trail headed back to his house, he stopped off in a quiet nook near a creek, letting the mule graze and drink his fill.

Earl opened the letter, and was surprised to recognize his daughter's handwriting. He covered his mouth with his calloused hand and let a few tears leak out unashamedly. He missed his baby girl so much.

Dear Daddy and Momma,

I hope this letter finds you and the rest of the family well. I am writing to let you know what has happened since the last time we saw each other.

I have met a lovely man, who is a bit older than me, but he loves me dearly. His name is Garrett, and after courting me most politely, he asked for my hand and we were married last year.

The other thing I have to tell you is that I have given birth to two beautiful boys. Emmett Jasper is the oldest (we call him Jasper) and he has beautiful blue eyes just like his uncle, and curly blond hair. Edward Masen (Momma, I hope it's okay that I gave him your family name) has green eyes and beautiful reddish brown hair. He is much quieter than his brother.

You are probably surprised to hear this, but Garrett is taking such good care of us and has taken us north to his hometown in Pennsylvania. I don't know if we will ever be back to visit, but you are all in my thoughts and prayers every day.

Garrett is proud to call the boys his own, and he will give us a great life. I'm sorry if I have disappointed you, but I wanted to let you know that we are all fine.

Well, that is not entirely true. I don't know how to tell you this, but only a month after we left you, Emmett met with a hunting accident. He did not make it. I am so sorry and this is why I don't believe I can ever face the family again.

I will tell my boys all about their family as they grow up, and especially about their Uncle Emmett. I will not let his memory disappear because I owe him so much. I owe him everything.

I love you all so much and I miss you as well.

All my love,

Annabelle Marie McCarty

Earl was carefully wiping his tears with the hand not clutching the letter. He couldn't believe his boy was gone. He didn't know how he would be able to tell his wife.

As he went to fold the letter, he realized there was another page. Bolder, slightly old fashioned handwriting slashed darkly on the page.

Mr. McCarty,

I wish to apologize for the lateness of this missive. I should have liked to write to you and ask for Bella's hand before we were wed, however she was most reluctant to mention her family.

I understand the circumstances that led to your separation were not the best, but I want to assure you of my unyielding devotion to your daughter and grandsons. They are the light of my life.

As I am unable to have children of my own, the boys will be my heirs and stand to inherit quite a bit from my family. To this point, I am enclosing a bank draft that is representative of the dowry I would have offered you had we been able to meet in person.

I hope this amount is satisfactory to you, but if you decide you need more, or if you need anything further in the future, you may write to me under care of my bank. I travel quite regularly for business, and the family will travel with me as well.

You have a beautiful daughter, and she is a great credit to you and your wife. I will treasure her for all eternity.

Warmest regards,

Garrett Adams